


come on and let me know

by xxPayne



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Established Relationship, Fluff, High School, M/M, only a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 10:00:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12862161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxPayne/pseuds/xxPayne
Summary: Mike and Will's first anniversary is coming up, and Mike is planning a special surprise for Will.





	come on and let me know

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you anon for the prompt! I really liked writing this one.  
> I don't specifically mention the ages in this, but I pictured it as Freshman or Sophomore year in high school. Also, pretend Jonathan plays guitar.

Mike is hiding something.

Will has memorized his facial expressions well enough by now to know when he’s lying; there’s a muscle on the right side of his face, near his lips, that twitches. He hardly ever lies, though, and if he does, it’s always about something insignificant, like whether Mike ate the last Little Debbie snack cake even though Will  _ told _ him to save it for him, because he already ate the entire box.

This time, though, there’s something off about Mike, and it’s not about Little Debbie snacks. 

They’re at Will’s house today, on the living room floor with a half-finished puzzle spread out in front of them. It was one of Bob’s. Will and Mike have completed it a thousand times already, but it makes both of them feel a little better when they finish it again.

Mike’s arm is wrapped around Will’s shoulders, his fingers idly brushing through Will’s hair. They haven’t moved for at least an hour, both of them feeling sleepy after a long day of school. The silence is comfortable, relaxed.

“I have to use the bathroom,” Will says, after he physically can’t hold it anymore.

Mike’s hand slips out of his hair, catching on the back of his neck as he takes his arm back reluctantly. “But you’re so warm,” he pouts. 

“I’ll be right back,” Will says, blushing.

He’s only away for a second, but when he returns to the living room, Mike is gone. The tendrils of irrational worry and paranoia start to grip at his chest, his lungs feeling tight. The demogorgon took Will without a trace, it could—

“Will?”

Will looks up and sees Mike standing in the hallway. All at once, he feels stupid and relieved and still a little bit scared. “Sorry, I, sorry,” Will says, shaking his head. His breathing is still coming in shakily.

“It’s okay,” Mike says, coming closer. He holds onto Will’s hand, smiling reassuringly. “I was just talking to Jonathan.”

“Jonathan?” Will asks. “Why?”

“Just, you know, to say hi,” Mike says. The muscle in his cheek twitches.

Will narrows his eyes, but decides not to question it. He’s gotten quite used to people talking about him behind his back—out of love and worry, but still. Mike is practically vice president of the Worry about Will club, his mom being the president, of course. He’s sure Mike was just asking Jonathan if everything has been alright lately. 

Will doesn’t really know what  _ alright _ means anymore, but he thinks he’s been acting a little bit more like himself the past few months. The warmer the air gets, the more Will is able to put the memories of the demogorgon and the Upside Down and the Mind Flayer away. And with Will and Mike’s first anniversary coming up, he has more to be excited about than worried.

“Okay,” Will says, and smiles unsteadily. “Wanna finish the puzzle?”

Mike nods, and they find their places again.

+

“What are your plans?”

“Yeah, where are you going?”

“To that fancy restaurant?”

“Or—”

“Would you guys shut up?” Mike interrupts, though he has a hint of a smile on his face. “It’s none of your business, and it’s a surprise for Will, who’s sitting  _ right here _ .”

Max groans. “Whisper it to me, then.”

“No!” Mike says. “None of you get to know what I’m doing for our anniversary before Will.”

Will turns to the side to hide his smile. A fancy restaurant would be nice; Will has never been to one. Anything would make Will happy, though, even a simple night in, with rented movies and popcorn. He hopes Mike knows that.

The party drops the topic of conversation soon enough, when they realize that Mike is steadfastly ignoring their questions.

At some point, Mrs. Wheeler pokes her head through the basement door and says, “It’s beautiful outside, you can’t spend your whole day down here.” So they all hop on their bikes and start riding around town, aimlessly looking for something to do. 

They end up near the quarry, nowhere near the edge, but close enough to enjoy the beauty. Mike still gets tense around here, but he never wants to ruin his friends’ fun, so he stays silent. Will holds his hand and smiles at him until he relaxes.

Max is attempting to braid El’s hair, which she recently cut short again. Dustin and Lucas are, predictably, fighting over something. 

“You know you don’t need to go all out for our anniversary, right?” Will says quietly.

“It’s fine,” Mike says. “I want to. Besides, it’s not—I’m not going  _ all out _ . It’s just, you know, special. It’s our first one.”

Will can hardly believe it’s been a year since he and Mike finally confessed what they’d both been secretly feeling for months. Will thought for sure that his friendship with Mike was over, and that he’d have to leave the party to avoid further embarrassment. He didn’t expect Mike to breathe out a loud sigh of relief and say, “Thank God, because I like you too.”

They couldn’t keep it a secret for longer than a day. They were both too wrapped up in each other, smiling goofily and giggling at nothing. It didn’t take long for their friends to realize what had happened.

“Earth to lovebirds,” Dustin says, and Mike rolls his eyes. “Can we head back, now? It’s hot.”

They collect their bikes, riding in pairs down the empty roads. After a minute or two, Will hears something. Humming. He turns towards Mike, to ask if he hears it too, only to see that Mike is the one making the noise.

“What song is that?” Will asks. It sounds familiar.

Mike stops, his ears tinged pink. “Nothing, it’s nothing.”

“Oh,” Will says, shrugging. “Okay.”

But it’s not nothing, Will realizes. It’s _ Should I Stay Or Should I Go _ , the song Mike has always called “weird”, but has grown slightly fond of, lately—if only because he associates it with Will. 

Will smiles the entire way back to Mike’s house.

+

Mike is  _ still  _ talking to Jonathan. 

He’s been in Jonathan’s room for at least fifteen minutes now, and Will is starting to worry. Are they talking about him? Are they laughing about him? He thought he’s been getting better, but what if they don’t think he is? 

He feels sick to his stomach. He stands up and starts pacing. 

Then, the door opens. Mike comes out.

“Hey, sorry,” Mike says. “I didn’t mean to take that long.”

Will’s heart is still racing, but he nods and forces a smile anyway. “It’s okay.”

“We were talking about anniversary plans,” Mike says, and Will can see that he’s telling the truth. He relaxes.

“With my brother?” Will asks.

“Well, yeah,” Mike says. “Trust me, you’ll love it. I mean, I hope. I think you will.”

Excitement replaces Will’s tension. He giggles, “Okay.”

+

Their anniversary falls on a Friday. Their friends antagonize them the entire day, making kissy faces and imitating them and not stopping until Will’s face is bright red and Mike is fuming.

“Shh,” Mike hisses, looking around the lunch room. No one is paying them any attention, but Troy could be lurking anywhere, anytime.

“Sorry Mike.You guys are just so easy to make fun of,” Dustin laughs. “You’re literally holding hands under the table.”

Will looks down, finding that he is, indeed, holding Mike’s hand. They break apart with matching blushes on their faces.

“Will you please tell us where you’re going tonight?” Max begs.

“Nope,” Mike says. 

They all sigh and turn back to their food. 

Before lunch ends, Will hears it again—the music of  _ Should I Stay Or Should I Go _ , coming from Mike’s mouth.

+

The plan is that Will and Mike will go to their respective houses after school, get dressed in something a little more fancy, and then meet at Castle Byers’. They can’t convene at Mike’s because his parents think Will and Mike are only friends, and they can’t really meet at Will’s, because Joyce and Jonathan will surely want to take pictures of them, and that would be embarrassing.  In fact, Will has to sneak out of the house (after leaving a note, of course) just to avoid his mom taking a picture of him in his button up and slacks. 

It’s been years since Will was trapped in the Upside Down, but being in the woods alone always brings the memories back fiercely. It took a long time for him to feel safe in Castle Byers’ again, mostly thanks to Mike being there to remind him that he’s out of harm’s way. He still doesn’t usually go on his own, but the woods are slowly starting to feel like home again.

Mike is already in the fort when Will arrives. Seeing him makes Will breathe out a small sigh of relief.

“Hey,” Will whispers as he approaches him. Mike is sitting criss-cross inside—he’s wearing a tie—and the curtain is pinned up so it’s all open. When Will climbs in beside Mike, he closes it, so it’s just them. It’s their moment, it’s their evening. No one will disturb them here.

“Hey,” Mike says back, smiling softly. “I, um. I hope it’s okay that we’re not going to a fancy dinner.”

“No, no, that’s fine,” Will says. “More than fine. I like this better.”

Mike rests his hand on Will’s cheek, pressing one small kiss to his lips before pulling back. “I have a surprise.”

Will raises his eyebrows. “This isn’t the surprise?”

Mike laughs. “What, me sitting in a fort? What kind of surprise is that? No, I have something else. I’ve, I’ve worked really hard, and—Jonathan has been teaching me. I’m still not that good though, so don’t, you know, make fun of me.”

Will scrunches his nose. “I would never.”

Mike looks into Will’s eyes for one more second before he turns and lifts a blanket off of a lump in the corner, revealing Jonathan’s guitar.

Will opens his mouth in shock, dissolving into laughs. “This is what you’ve been keeping a secret?”

“Shh,” Mike says, his eyes sparkling, his lips turned up. “I know I’m a terrible liar, okay? I didn’t want to lie, but this had to be a secret. Now really, let me just—”

He holds the guitar in his lap, his fingers lining up on the neck. He pulls a guitar pick out of his pocket and hovers it over the strings. “Don’t laugh, please, I—” he seems to be joking, but Will can see the vulnerability behind it, too.

Will leans forward, happiness crashing over him, and kissing Mike on the cheek. “Go on, rockstar.”

Mike murmurs something to himself,  _ ddd gggg d _ , and then he starts to play.

Will recognizes the song instantly.

It’s almost too much, to be here in Castle Byers’, listening to  _ Should I Stay Or Should I Go _ . The song brought him hope, reminded him of home, but the Upside Down tainted it, too. Not now, not anymore. Will feels nothing but joy and love as Mike plays the opening chords of the song. He even adds the little noises that pop in between the actual music.

“Darling, you got to let me know,” Mike sings, shyly watching Will. “Should I stay or should I go?”

Mike never falters on the guitar, even as he sings—it’s clear that he’s been practising for a long time now.

“If you say that you are mine,” Mike sings, looking straight at Will. “I’ll be here ‘til the end of time.”

Will can hardly breathe, he’s so in love. 

_ In love. _

They haven’t said that, yet. They love each other, of course; they’ve been best friends since Kindergarten. But they haven’t said they’re in love. 

Will feels like he’s in a daze as he watches Mike strum the guitar and sing his favorite song. He did this all for  _ Will. _

As soon as Mike finishes the last line, his fingers stilling, Will is tumbling forward and tugging him into a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you—” Will gasps. He presses his face into Mike’s neck, giggling out of pure happiness. “That was so good.”

Mike nervously hugs him back. “You liked it?”

“I  _ loved _ it,” Will says enthusiastically. And then, he says it. “I, I love you.”

Mike twists and looks at Will’s face. “Really? Will, I love you too,” Mike says, and joins him in laughing. “I love you.”

Will clings onto Mike until his arms start to lock up from lack of use. Mike pushes the guitar out of his lap and pulls Will down on the blankets, curling up beside him. They both can’t stop laughing.

“This is  _ way _ better than a fancy restaurant.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! :)  
> You can also find me at my [stranger things blog](http://www.scottsclarke.tumblr.com), where I'm taking prompts!


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